Quintessential Ajimobi

 Editorial

 

In many ways, he was the quintessential Nigerian politician – colorful, charismatic, ebullient, stubborn and not one to flee from a political fight no matter how costly it might appear to be.

The late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who died of complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic at a private hospital in Lagos on June 25 no doubt left indelible imprints on the political terrain, both of Oyo State and Nigeria.

The height of his political career was certainly his service as Oyo State governor for two terms, from 2011 to 2019.

His rise in politics was not always smooth sailing as he was faced with his own share of political disappointments and setbacks, which he confronted with determination, courage and fortitude.

After his election as a senator on the platform of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003, Ajimobi unsuccessfully made a bid for the office of Oyo State governor in 2007 as the gubernatorial flag bearer of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

Undaunted, he made another bid for the office in April 2011 as the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and this time, his effort was crowned with success.

It is certainly a testimony to his creditable performance as governor of the state that Ajimobi became the first occupant of the office to be elected for a second term in 2015  under the aegis of the then newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC).

There is no doubt that he achieved this feat largely as a result of his widely applauded accomplishments in the modernisation of infrastructure across diverse sectors of the state, his upgrading and beautification of the environment, particularly in Ibadan, the state capital, and his creating a suitable climate for businesses to thrive, thus helping to generate jobs in the state.

No less noteworthy was his restoration of public order and peace to the state when his administration took on and forced ceaselessly feuding factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), who had perpetrated violence in the state with impunity, to operate within the ambit of the law.

Before his venturing into politics, Ajimobi had recorded a meritorious and outstanding career in the private sector that spanned a period of nearly three decades.

Born on December 16, 1949, Ajimobi had his primary school education at the Saint Patrick’s Primary School, Oke Padre, in Ibadan, and Ibadan City Council Primary School, Aperin, also in Ibadan, while he had his secondary school education at Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan. Thereafter, he left Nigeria in pursuit of the Golden Fleece in the United States.

He obtained his B.Sc degree in Business Administration and Finance at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He also bagged the Master of Business Administration degree in Operations and Marketing with specialisation in Finance from the Governor’s University, University Park, Illinois, USA.

Prior to his return to Nigeria, he was engaged in Buffalo, New York, as a state certified underwriter by Equitable Life Assurance Corporation after the New York Insurance examinations.

Armed with this solid scholastic background, he was employed as Operations Controller at Nestle Foods Plc, Nigeria and thereafter became the company’s marketing controller.

Later, in the oil sector, he rose to become Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company, a subsidiary of Shell Petroleum, Nigeria.

For a man credited with many achievements as governor of Oyo State, it is ironical that Ajimobi did not succeed in getting his preferred candidate, Mr. Bayo Adelabu, of the All Progressives Congress elected to take over the baton from him in 2019.

Rather, Mr. Seyi Makinde of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was elected as his successor.

In the same vein, Ajimobi’s bid to be elected senator from his senatorial district failed as the PDP also won the seat.

Despite his amiable and humorous disposition, Ajimobi’s critics accuse him of having a sharp and unsparing tongue, and often exhibiting an overbearing and intolerant disposition to his subordinates.

It is believed that his protracted battle with the Olubadan of Ibadan, culminating in his mass coronation of 21 traditional rulers from the respected Olubadan’s domain in April 2017, cost he and his party dearly in the 2019 governorship and senatorial elections.

His administration’s demolition of a radio station belonging to the popular musician, Yinka Ayefele, in Ibadan, towards the end of his tenure as governor, also eroded considerably from his goodwill even though the structure was eventually rebuilt by the state government.

Once, when addressing demonstrating students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in front of his office, Ajimobi insisted that the aggrieved students must respect ‘constituted authority’, which became a nickname by which he was humorously referred to by the public.

Although he was appointed Acting National Chairman of the APC on June 16, 2020, he did not survive the infectious disease that cost him his life and prevented him from actively assuming this role.

Nevertheless, Ajimobi was a notable figure in the country’s political life and history will surely not be indifferent to his legacy.